This guide contains information and tips on how to memorialize a loved one following cremation and some Memorial Service Ideas. If you are tasked with the job of arranging a cremation memorial service, it can sometimes seem a daunting task and a great responsibility. Here we cover everything you need to know about memorializing a loved one. We cover:
- Understanding what a memorial service entails and represents
- How a memorial service differs from a funeral service
- Planning of a personalized cremation memorial service
- Creating memorial tributes with words, memorabilia, and artifacts
- Setting up an online memorial page or website
- The role of technology and memorial services
- Deciding on the final disposition of the cremated remains
- How direct cremation and a family memorial service can save thousands on funeral costs
Memorialization Explained
A change in how we memorialize with cremation
Cremation offers much greater flexibility in how we can memorialize a loved one that has passed. As there is not a body present at a memorial service, there are many more options for how you can conduct a memorial service. It does not need to be at a funeral home, and you do not need to hold the service immediately after the death has occurred.
This is leading to a change in how we view the whole funeral process. The role of a funeral director is changing too. The funeral home can handle the disposition – the cremation – aspect of a funeral, but a family can then opt to host their own memorial service once they have the cremated remains returned.
The need to use the services of a funeral home for a memorial service is not necessarily required. Families choose to use a place of worship, community centers, event venues, their own homes, or even outdoors. Sometimes a family feels that they can do a better job of memorializing their lost loved one. They can make it very personal and original.
So, what does a memorial service entail and represent?
A memorial service is a ceremony to remember a loved one who has died. It is considered a form of closure following a loss and a chance to ‘pay last respects’ and say a final goodbye. It represents a remembrance of a life lived and an opportunity to pay tribute to the memory of the person who has passed.
With the shift toward cremation as a death-care option, memorial services are now typically held after the cremation and are referred to as a Cremation Memorial.
A memorial service can take many different forms. It can be very similar to a funeral service format or uniquely personalized and held at a significant place that was meaningful to the departed.
There are no set formats, rules, or etiquette for creating a unique memorial service. Today, families are embracing the opportunity that cremation memorialization offers: They can create a totally bespoke personalized remembrance for a loved one.
How does a memorial service differ from a funeral service?
A funeral service is held with the body present in a casket. A memorial service is held without the body present. If cremation has been performed, a memorial service can be held with the cremation urn present, but many memorial services are conducted with no remains at the ceremony.
Memorial services are sometimes more uplifting and less somber. This can often be because they are not necessarily held immediately after the death. Families have had more time to come to terms with their grief, and they feel a memorial service held later gives them more opportunity to make it a celebratory event to honor their lost loved one.
How to plan a personalized cremation memorial service
If you have been asked to organize a memorial service, it can be helpful to plan out how you anticipate a service should run. As there will be no body present, a memorial service can be very flexible and at any venue. If the cremation urn is present, this can form a ‘center point,’ similar to a casket at a funeral service.
You will need to decide on the location where the service is to be held, who to invite, what format you wish the service to take, and what memorial tributes are required. Such as a memory book, photos, prayer cards, music, etc. It can help a memorial service run smoothly if there is some organization and deciding who will manage the service and who will speak and deliver a eulogy or final words.
How to create memorial tributes with words, memorabilia, and artifacts
If you arrange a memorial service, you may oversee the organizing of the memorial tributes for the ceremony. This can be arranging flowers, photos, memory cards, candles, music, videos, and even food. The funeral home often managed memorial tributes for an additional fee.
Still, if you are organizing a service without using a funeral home, you can either purchase tribute products or make your own. Fortunately, with so many resources online these days, there are many companies that make and sell memorial tributes and lots of ideas for how to make your own memorial products.
Check out this post about Creating Your Own Memorial Tribute.
How to create a personalized cremation tribute
‘Personalization’ is something we embrace in everyday life today. It is something that has become important to all of us. And personalization of a memorial service can often be achieved so much better when the family is arranging and conducting it. No more of those slip-ups when a funeral director mispronounces a name or omits a key detail about the deceased.
You can make a cremation memorial personal in many ways. Still, generally, stories about the deceased, photos from their life, memorabilia that attendees will associate with them, and music that the deceased loved are all good tributes.
There are no hard and fast rules, and as long as the memorial service respects the deceased and those attending, you can arrange anything that seems fitting.
What is a Life Celebration tribute?
A life celebration is a type of memorial service that is more focused on celebrating the life of the deceased. So, it is more uplifting and joyful than a sad, somber service. Some families choose to employ the services of a funeral celebrant to lead the service. A celebrant has been trained to memorialize a service focusing on celebrating a life ‘well-lived.’
Funeral homes also offer customized life celebration services, or you can prepare your own life celebration tribute for a loved one.
How to set up an online memorial page or website
As many of us live our lives and connect online these days, setting up an online memorial page or website can be a great way to have a lasting tribute to a lost loved one and enable friends and family far and wide to participate in creating a memorial tribute.
Some funeral homes now offer online memorial pages to their client families. These are sometimes free, but often if you pay a nominal fee for the online memorial page, it guarantees it will be hosted indefinitely.
Similarly, there are several companies that specialize in offering online memorial tributes and offer different packages depending on how long you wish it to be hosted and how much information and photos you wish to add.
Facebook offers a Memorial page option. This can also allow a wider circle of friends from all over to engage, share, and contribute to an online memorial. Facebook will automatically convert the Facebook profile of someone who has deceased into a memorial page, with the words ‘remembering’ next to their name on the profile.
The Role of Technology in Delivering a Memorial Service
Technology has changed the world as we know it, which is also true of funerals. Today funerals can be live-streamed to enable those unable to be present to watch the funeral in real-time. With technology like FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom, it is possible to do this even if you hold your own memorial service.
Using photo-editing and video-editing software or PowerPoint presentations can all be useful tools to help you put together something that brings media into a memorial service. A video or slideshow can prove a lasting tribute for the family to keep as a tribute, share, and revisit as time passes or on the anniversary of a death.
Do we need to hold a memorial service?
No, you do not need to hold a memorial service if it is not considered necessary, or perhaps a very elderly relative passed without many family or friends still alive to attend. Deciding to hold a memorial service is just a personal choice.
Some people decide just to go ahead and scatter the cremated remains without any service or ceremony. Conducting an ash scattering can be regarded as a memorial act, even if no formal service or specific tributes are arranged for the scattering.
What to do with the cremated remains after a cremation memorial service: The final disposition
Deciding what to do with cremated remains still poses a question for some families. Often families keep an urn at home as they are undecided about what to do. Cremation has removed the immediate need to buy a burial plot and inter the remains, although some families opt to purchase a cremation niche and have the cremated remains interred.
Scattering the ashes is becoming a more popular option. The cremated remains can be scattered in a bespoke Memorial Garden or in nature somewhere.
For more information on how to scatter ashes, read our ash-scattering guide.
Please remember that it is wise not to rush to scatter the ashes too quickly after the passing, as you may change your mind later.
Another option is to keep a small amount of the ashes in a keepsake urn and scatter the rest.
Cremated remains can also be made into memorial artifacts, including memorial diamonds, blown glass, birdbaths, reef balls, paintings, vinyl records, shotgun shells, or tattoos.
How direct cremation and a family memorial service can save thousands on funeral costs
Direct cremation is a very affordable, simple, no-fuss, no-service cremation option. The funeral home handles everything to cremate the deceased but then returns the cremated remains to the family. A direct cremation can be arranged for under $1,000 in many areas. [The cost for a direct cremation varies by provider, state, and city but can be as low as $795 and as high as $3,000].
Check out our article on How Much Does Cremation Cost Without Any Services. It explains why more families are choosing direct cremation and provides five easy steps to plan a cheap direct cremation.
Visit our Local Providers Search to check the local prices near you.
Following a direct cremation, if family and friends arrange a memorial service themselves, this can reduce the overall costs of a funeral. With a simple direct cremation and a family-led memorial service, a dignified funeral can easily be achieved for under $2,000. In fact, it can be less if direct cremation is being offered at a low cost in your area.
Family-led memorial services are becoming the new ‘norm.’ It is almost a return to family values of decades before the funeral establishment’s modern era. And why should we pay thousands of dollars to a funeral business when we can host a family and friends gathering at a fraction of the cost of a traditional funeral service?
Although holding a memorial service is not necessary after the cremation, it does provide an opportunity for closure and a sense of being able to say a final goodbye to a lost loved one. The unique thing about a memorial service is that there is no time-critical timeline for holding it. You can hold a memorial service shortly after the death and cremation or wait months or even a year.
Hopefully, this overview of memorialization options and ideas can help you to conduct a personalized, affordable, and memorable cremation memorial tribute for a loved one.
I have been researching and writing about the death care industry for the past fifteen years. End-of-life services and experiences are topics most people avoid thinking about until they must face them. My work provides comprehensive and independent resources for families, explaining the workings of the funeral industry, the laws governing funeral practices, and the death care trends that impact consumers. With a BA in Cultural Studies, I bring a unique perspective to analyzing cultural death care rituals, complemented by a career background in Business Management. The death care industry is undergoing significant changes, which I find fascinating. The shift towards cremation services and the emergence of sustainable alternatives like aquamation and human composting are of particular interest. I am also intrigued by how technology is reshaping the funeral planning process and experience. I write for US Funerals Online and DFS Memorials LLC, and contribute to various forums and publications within the death care industry.
